At Kormos Farm, mornings begin with the sound of crowing roosters and thundering hooves.  The herd of horses and one spunky mule, living freely in the hills until it’s their turn to work, come galloping down toward the farm. Flowing into the paddock and feeding area, they pause to greet their human partners and curious guests.

Roots in the Land

Stelios Frangoulis moves among them with the calm confidence of someone who has lived this life for decades, though in truth, he’s only 30-something. A fifth-generation farmer, he never set out to build a business. He set out to build a life - one that feels good, right, and true from the moment he wakes until the day’s last light fades into the Aegean’s horizon.

The farm itself feels alive. Although a bit on the chaotic side, every detail speaks of care, attention, and the stubborn insistence that life on this land be lived fully, not just managed.

Rooted in the ways of farming and herding, the Frangoulis family lived in harmony with the land, cultivating its bounty and relying on the strength of their animals. For generations, they worked the land, travelled, and traded, guided by oxen and mules.

Three generations ago, as tourism began to grow on Paros, they were among the first to offer visitors a new way of exploring the island—mostly on mules and donkeys—guiding them off the beaten path and sharing the rhythms of the land and their own natural way of life. Stelios’ earliest memories are of riding a mule with delighted guests while his older brother Manolis led the way through trails with breathtaking views, like those near Agios Arsenios monastery in the Butterflies valley on the southern part of the island.

Things have changed a lot since then…

For Stelios, animals have always been more than a tool or a tradition.. His deep respect and care for animals is simply who he is - it hardly needs mentioning.

A Cowboy’s Choice

While the family had long worked with oxen, cows, mules, and donkeys, he was especially drawn to the freedom, power, and gentleness of horses.
Freedom, a value he shares with the horses themselves, seems to guide his every choice.

In 2018, he made the decision to start partnering with horses professionally, offering horseback rides mostly during the high tourist season. The choice wasn’t without resistance, from the well meaning protective doubts of family and friends, to the sheer challenge of balancing care for the animals with the demands of welcoming visitors on top of all his other farming responsibilities.

Determined to build a daily life he didn't want to escape from, Stelios stubbornly pushed on. Daring to start something new, follow his passion, trust his instincts and put in the work, Stelios has gotten his business where it is today - successfully serving visitors of the island and offering them the opportunity to connect with the horses and experience the island from an off the beaten path perspective.

 No Man Is An Island

Of course no one can sustain building something meaningful entirely alone, and Stelios recognises that the farm’s success comes from surrounding himself with the right people - those who share his values and approach life with care, respect, and curiosity.

Rafaela, his partner and steadfast support, ensures the farm hums along, helping weave together the logistics, guests, and family life. Their extended family pitches in too - a living reminder that this is a fifth-generation endeavour, built on trust, love, and shared labour.

And then there is Natalia Kukowska, an experienced horsewoman, combining professional expertise with a natural gift for understanding horses and conveying this deeply to interested visitors.

A key part of this thriving ecosystem is the collaborations Stelios chooses. One of the most aligned has been with Natalia.
When I asked her why she chose to return to Kormos farm for a second season, instead of accepting other exciting formal sport training offers she had elsewhere, she said:

"I really appreciate how they treat the horses here… and also, these are good people. I can feel it. I like them. This is more important than other things."

Her choice says as much about Kormos Farm as it does about her. 

Soul in Business

As an outside observer, it is clear to me that this place has Soul.
Soul isn't something you can manufacture or buy.
It’s a deep meaningful identity that defines a person.

A business does not inherently possess a soul, it is the people within it and the relationships they build that infuse it with that deep meaningful identity.

Family businesses often hold this soul most strongly, creating genuine hospitality that can’t be faked.

Places like Kormos farm feel alive with connection and this naturally extends to visitors who share or are inspired by the same values. It is not lost on me that this feeling of genuine hospitality is exactly what the tourists from 30 plus years ago were so charmed by and the kind people crave today when they come to a Greek island - and it's becoming increasingly rare in modern times..

Tensions & Concerns

Stelios and Natalia share similar principles, and their working relationship reflects that. Through her perspective, subtle tensions are revealed: the challenge of balancing growth with respect for the land and animals, the fast pace of the high season, and the ever-present question of sustainability in every sense of the word.

Like many others looking towards the future, Stelios, his family, and his team are concerned, to say the least, about the direction tourism on the island is taking and the sustainability of what they are building.

‘When you make things so comfortably accessible to people, you risk attracting too many of the ‘wrong’ people.  The ones who are more interested or sadly may only know how to consume an experience rather than being in it, open, curious, and respectful.

It may be good for profitable business in the short term, but in the long term, it's not sustainable in any sense.

He recognises that the way he is running it puts him in a danger zone. The fast pace during the high season, paired with the constant workload (from his other farming activities with cattle and land), scarcely gives him a moment to think and connect with why he started in the first place, some days.

When he stops to connect, though, he is clear– ‘the majority of businesses on the island can go ahead and take the direction they may’ he says ‘we are aiming at that smaller percentage of visitors - the type who share our values’.

An Intentional Future

Even amid these challenges, new ideas are emerging - ways to keep Kormos Farm aligned with the values it was built on: freedom, aliveness, deep respect, and guardianship of the land, animals, and people.

For Stelios, the question is not just economic; it is ethical. How do you invite people into an experience without turning it into mere consumption? How do you ensure that curiosity and respect for animals, the land, and the people, remain at the heart of the farm? These are not easy answers, but asking them is part of how Kormos Farm continues to grow in integrity, not just size.

The farm’s path forward is grounded in intention. By prioritizing the welfare of the animals, collaborating with aligned partners like Natalia, and leaning on family support, Stelios models a form of tourism that is thoughtful, regenerative, and rooted in real connection.

It’s also an invitation - to visitors, to other businesses on Paros, and perhaps even to us as individuals. We can choose to nurture what is rich, sustainable, and meaningful, rather than settling for what is fleeting and transactional.

For me, spending time at Kormos Farm is a reminder: focus on what’s good, what’s alive, what’s worth growing.

Where attention goes, energy flows. And where there is energy, there is growth.

We can’t go back to a time before mass tourism. But we can move forward with intention, rooted in values we can stand behind.

Perhaps what we most need is to recover a kind of innocence — not the kind born of not knowing, but the kind born of choosing what is good, again and again.

Kormos Farm is one of those “pockets of goodness” on the island. I count myself lucky to have witnessed it, and to carry forward the questions it asks of all of us: What do we most want to grow?

Discover Kormos Farm →
Written by Maria Telikiozoglou, leadership & team-building coach for small and family-run hospitality businesses. Connect with her on LinkedIn.